Honey-Caramel Peach Pie

Served alongside homemade buterscotch pudding

This is the biggest jerk post, what with it being October first and all. Especially if you’re into eating seasonally and locally, you’re probably hungrily eyeing those peaches you canned in August instead of considering fresh peach pie. We’ll have crummy peaches all autumn here in DC, but if you think about it, well, I am from California, which means I can eat California peaches all year long with diplomatic immunity to food-consciousness since those peaches are still local to my upbringing. That’s how it works, right?

Cold, cold butter and hand-mixing with forks are the tricks to crusts that flake like biscuits

Well, good, because this is the most stupendous peach pie I have ever had the absolute pleasure of baking and inhaling. Oh yes. We even used the crummiest possible peaches from Maine—they were mealy, bruised, and either hard as rocks or smooshy soft—but the baking neutralized the unsavory textures and the honey cloaked the bitter bits in a thick, sweet caramel layer. Summer? Who needs summer when you can lie to yourself about being food-conscious year-round!

Honey-Caramel Peach Pie
Adapted from Gourmet, which is also where I obtained that excellent butterscotch pudding recipe

3 lbs. ripe peaches
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided
1/4 cup mild honey
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
All-butter pastry dough
1 tablespoon whole milk

1. Cut an X in bottom of each peach, then blanch peaches in batches in boiling water for 15 seconds. Transfer with a slotted spoon to an ice bath to stop cooking. Peel peaches and cut into 1-inch-thick wedges.

2. Toss peaches well with cornstarch, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.

Put a foil-lined large baking sheet in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 425°F.

3. Bring 1/2 cup sugar, honey, and water to a boil in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then wash down any sugar crystals from side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Boil without stirring, swirling pan occasionally so caramel colors evenly, until dark amber, about five minutes.

4. Remove from heat and add butter, swirling pan until butter is melted. Pour over fruit and toss (caramel will harden slightly but will melt in oven).

5. Roll out 1 piece of dough (keep remaining piece chilled) into a 13-inch round on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim excess dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Chill shell while rolling out remaining dough.

Roll out remaining piece of dough into an 11-inch round on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin.

6. Transfer filling to pie shell, mounding it. Cover pie with pastry round. Trim with kitchen shears, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Press edges together, then crimp decoratively. Brush top all over with some of milk, then sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar. Cut steam vents in top crust with a paring knife, and use your extra crust to cut out shapes for your loved one (e.g. ponies for Dad, hearts for Joey).

7. Bake pie on hot foil-lined sheet for 20 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Continue to bake until crust is golden-brown and filling is bubbling, about 50 minutes more. Cool pie to room temperature, three to four hours, or eat it 15 minutes later like we did.